The North Dakota State University (NDSU) College of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Natural Resources has entered into a collaborative doctorate program in plant breeding and genetics with the College of Agricultural Sciences at the University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez (UPRM).

Ken Grafton, dean of the NDSU college, says the University of Puerto Rico did not offer a doctorate in agriculture.

"This collaboration will provide an excellent opportunity for students to pursue graduate studies in agricultural research and for University of Puerto Rico faculty to mentor them,"
Grafton says. "It also will serve as an important step in the process of beginning an agriculture doctorate program at UPRM."

NDSU will grant the degree with the requirement that the student spends a minimum of one year on the NDSU campus and that an NDSU faculty member from the Department of Plant Sciences serves as the student's primary mentor. The students will have a UPRM faculty co-chair and will be encouraged to conduct a portion of their dissertation research at UPRM.

David Wittrock, NDSU College of Graduate Studies dean, says the program is unique in that students may complete a significant amount of their coursework and research at UPRM, but will be NDSU students and active participants in the Plant Sciences doctoral program.

Benefits include the opportunity to bring more students to NDSU and the additional connections and benefits that NDSU researchers and educators can make with UPRM. Wittrock says this creative model sends the message that NDSU can be innovative and that the university should be thinking beyond the modes of graduate education that have been offered traditionally.

Al Schneiter, head of the Department of Plant Sciences, says that this is an exciting opportunity for both NDSU and UPRM.

"The real winners from this agreement will be the students who will have the opportunity to work with great NDSU faculty," Schneiter says. "This is one of the things that NDSU is all about - creating opportunities for those who are willing to work hard."

A benefit of the program is that the UPRM students have the opportunity to work with crops, such as corn, soybeans and sunflowers, grown in Puerto Rican winter nurseries in the temperate environment where they were developed, says Rich Horsely, NDSU Department of Plant Sciences professor. There also is a summer internship program available for students considering enrolling in the program.

UPRM is a Hispanic land-grant institution with more than 12,000 students. It offers baccalaureate programs, and master's and doctorate options through the colleges of Engineering, Agricultural Sciences, Business Administration and Arts and Sciences.